


Escape the Night – OET: Christmas in the North Pole Part One

by Dede42



Series: Our Eternity Together - Delta's POV [6]
Category: Creepypasta - Fandom, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Multi-Fandom, Original Work, Our ETerNity Together (Web Series AU)
Genre: Ableist Language, Bullying, Christmas, Christmas Party, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:15:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25900450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dede42/pseuds/Dede42
Summary: Delta and the others have ended up in the North Pole, where they find that Santa Claus is real! They get to work in Santa's workshop, which can be a dream come true, right? Or is there something else is going on, and can Delta prove herself useful to the group?
Series: Our Eternity Together - Delta's POV [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1738468
Comments: 24
Kudos: 2





	1. PROLOGUE: CHRISTMAS

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ETNMystic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ETNMystic/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Our Eternity Together](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16768489) by [ETNMystic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ETNMystic/pseuds/ETNMystic). 



> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> It's time for the next installment of Delta's POV for OET, and more background on her. Onward!

**PROLOGUE: CHRISTMAS**

*****

When it comes to Christmas, I’ve looked forward to it, especially when I was a kid, leaving cookies and milk out for Santa Claus. I enjoyed decorating the Christmas trees, especially when we happened to get a real tree, and helping my dad decorate the front of the house with Christmas lights.

My enjoyment of the holiday grew when I got to share it with my sisters, especially with playing outside in the snow, and building snowmen. But as I got older, some of the joy did fade, especially when money got tight due to my dad not having a job, and when the Christmas lights died, there wasn’t much of a point in buying more.

Despite all this, I did my best to hold onto the Christmas spirit, not just for myself, but for my parents and my sisters, and yet, there has been a small number of times when I hadn’t looked forward to Christmas, or something happened on Christmas that almost ruined the holiday for me. And these weren’t fun times when they  _did_ happen.

The first time Christmas nearly got ruined for me was when I was fifteen years old, and we spent Christmas visiting my mom’s parents up in Idaho, where we were also joined by my Aunt Lynda and her husband Bart.

The day itself went great, with the opening of presents, Stephanie and I going outside and playing in the snow in the backyard, eating meals together, and then came that evening, that was when things took a turn for the worse.

I didn’t know it at the time, but Bart has issues, and he has  _yet_ to get help for dealing with those issues. What happened that night was that my sister Stephanie made a silly noise shortly after I had muttered hush so I could hear the show playing on the TV at the time, and the next thing I knew, Bart was yelling at Stephanie, and then he yelled at me for swearing at him.

I hadn’t sworn, and both Stephanie and I were in tears because of this incident, my dad yelled at Bart to leave, and he did. It took some time for Stephanie and I to recover from the incident, and I nearly lost my Christmas spirit that day, but my dad helped me get it back. And it was a long time before I could be in a room with Bart, for that incident was forever scarred in my memory.

The next time I nearly lost my Christmas spirit was in 2012, for I didn’t have a job, I needed help from my parents to even  _buy_ presents, and my attempts to get a job were failing on an epic level. Yeah, 2012 wasn’t a good year for me.

Christmas 2016 was the start of another time when I felt my Christmas spirit starting to leave me, and it was due to the fact that, for some reason, I was only getting one or two presents. Basically I was sitting with my family, watching them open many presents, and I was just sitting there, feeling left out. This also happened for 2017, and would’ve happened for 2018 as well, if I hadn’t spoken up about it with my dad.

Now I know that Christmas is about giving and not about receiving, but it hurts when you get one or two presents, three if you’re lucky, and you have to sit there while the rest of your family is opening at least four or five presents. I was feeling left out because of this, and I said so to my dad, and so the 2018 and the 2019 Christmas seasons worked out better.

That’s real life, however, in the reality that I’m currently stuck in, I’m not so sure Christmas will turn out great for me, and that’s largely with how things have been going with being chased by the Cursed God and his minions and being excluded by the group itself.

Will I have a good Christmas? I honestly have no idea.


	2. CHAPTER ONE: ICE AND SNOW

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> It's time to find out where Delta and the others have ended up this time. Onward!

**CHAPTER ONE: ICE AND SNOW**

*****

The first thing I became aware of – was that it was freakin’ cold! I sat up, gasping and shaking, looking around to see that we had ended up in winter wasteland, and that we also were in the middle of a blizzard, which made it harder to see.

_‘_ _Where have we ended up this time?’_ I wondered, wishing that my hands weren’t handcuffed together, for it wasn’t going to be possible to warm my arms since I couldn’t even reach them.

“What the f* kind of place is this?" Orpheus wondered, blinking in confusion.

"Beats me," Alice gulped. "But it's starting to feel…festive."

Candy Pop shot up when he heard that, and he was looking terrified, even with him clutching at the stomach wound. "No…no please…no more."

"We've still got handcuffs on, though," Justine pointed out. "How are we supposed to do _anything_?"

"Maybe we should just lie here and wait for death?" Lucy suggested, and when I looked at her, I saw that she was looking hesitant and anxious, not normal for her at all, and I had a feeling that it had to do with being trapped in a cell with evil Lucy earlier.

I shook my head. “No-” I began, but I was then overridden by Mystic.

“We're not gonna lie here and wait for death," Mystic interrupted. "We're gonna move along and wait for… Santa Claus!”

I brightened up at the idea. “I want to see Santa!”

Unfortunately a few others were thinking otherwise, and what they said made not just Mystic angry, but me as well.

“You actually think that Father Christmas is going to come and save us?" Lyra scoffed. "You're out of your f*g mind. Santa's not real."

"Of course he is!" Mystic said defensively.

“Yeah, Santa is real,” I said firmly, even though only Ines was listening to me.

Lyra scoffed. "How old are you?"

"Hey. Y'all need to f*g chill," Andrea R. snapped.

"That's all we _can_ do right now," Orpheus snarked. "Maybe Mystic's right. Maybe we'll get some help."

"From Father Christmas?" Stella exclaimed.

"How do _you_ know Father Christmas isn't real?" Genevieve defended.

This took Lyra by surprise. "Genevieve, you know that-!"

"No, none of us do,” Genevieveinterrupted. “Father Christmas may be real after all."

"I think the cold's getting to her," Stella suggested.

"Well, it's worth a try!" Mystic snapped back. "I'm not gonna just lie here and wait to die. If I'm gonna die, it might as well be while I'm actually _trying_ to save myself, and the rest of you all!" And she rush off.

"Mystic!" Genevieve called. "Please wait, dear!"

"Mystic…" Andrea R sighed.

_‘_ _And she’s off again,’_ I thought, annoyed that they had had the nerve to say that Santa Claus didn’t exist. So what? I’d told my sister Mackenzie once that she could believe in Santa for as long as she wanted to, and there wasn’t anything wrong about believing in someone like him.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when Ines helped me up, and we set off with the YouTubers and most of the writers, saved for Alice, Bailey, and Envy, who were trying to look after Candy Pop. I would’ve tried to help them, but without my backpack, I didn’t have any medical supplies.

Instead, I went with Ines and the others to get Mystic before she got lost, and hopefully find shelter to get out of the cold before we all dropped from hypothermia and ended up freezing to death in this wasteland.

*****

I trudged through the snow and ice with Ines, trying to keep the others in sight, but it wasn’t easy since my glasses were fogging up, plus I think they were also icing over, and my chest was starting to tighten up as I started coughing.

_‘_ _Crap!’_ I thought, stumbling through the snow and ice.  _‘My asthma is starting to act up!’_ And I didn’t even have an inhaler, which wasn’t good, and I was also starting to shiver less…that was another bad sign that I was borderline hypothermia.

I heard a thud and I staggered, a bit before falling face first into the snow. Coughing and spitting, I forced myself upright and saw that Ines had collapsed into the snow. “I-I-Ines,” I said through chattering teeth and I tried to get her to wake up. “Don’t – don’t – don’t fall asleep.” But I was having troubles focusing, and so I looked around for help.

Unfortunately, it was becoming increasingly clear that no one was in  _any_ condition to help, and I was starting to fade myself. I tried crawling a ways before I face-planted into the snow and ice, wheezing as my asthma kicked in, my lungs closing up on me, and everything around me was starting to grow black.

I thought I heard someone say “ _Help…us…_ ” over the wind, and I was vaguely aware of dark shapes moving towards us…but then everything went black and silent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will they be saved? Or will they all freeze to death? Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	3. CHAPTER TWO: SANTA CLAUS! PART ONE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> Time to find out if Delta and the group are still alive or if they've frozen to death. Onward!

**CHAPTER TWO: SANTA CLAUS! PART ONE**

*****

The first thing I became aware of – was that I was lying on something soft and comfortable, I was warm, and I could breath. There was a warm and crackling noise that I was pretty sure was coming from a fireplace, I could smell chocolate, other treats, and there was happy chatter and laughter going on around me.

I slowly opened my eyes, blinking since things were blurry, but I realized that I didn’t have my glasses on, so I felt around until I found them and put them on, relieved to find that someone had cleaned the lens, and the room came into sharp focus.

The room was large, everyone was laying on beds, saved for Envy, but I could see the shadow of a tall figure moving around in a greenhouse, and I cringed whenever I heard something break, which mean that he was alive and recovering. I got up on my elbows and looked around at the room, finding that there was a fireplace in one wall, and a lot of Christmas decorations.

“Young lady?”

I started, for the voice was deep, but also comforting, and I looked to my left – and my jaw dropped when I saw sitting in a chair by the bed that Mystic was lying on, was a rotund man with white hair, a white beard, and was wearing a familiar red suit. _‘Ooh, Mystic’s gonna be excited!’_

“Young lady?”

“H-huh?” I heard Mystic asked as she woke up.

“Oh thank heavenly father!” the man exclaimed, beaning. “You're alive. Rudolph was certainly right to call the team.”

_‘_ _Rudolph?’_ I thought, and realized that the dark shapes I’d seen before black out must’ve been the reindeers coming to our aid. _‘Cool!’_

Mystic was clearly still trying to process where we were. “R-Rudolph?”

The jolly man nodded. “You didn't recognize the glowing red nose?"

Mystic shook her head slowly at first, but then…it hit her. "R-Rudolph…the Red-Nosed Reindeer?"

He nodded, and her eyes sparkled.

"I knew it! I knew you were real!”

I couldn’t help it, I laughed with delight, and was thrilled that Mystic had been proven right and this jolly man was indeed Santa Claus. I did get distracted by a bright white light, and it was gone before I could find the source. _‘What was that?’_

“Okay, fine," a voice huffed nearby. "You win, Mystic.”

Mystic became aware that she and Santa weren’t the only ones in the room. “My friends! They're…but how?" she asked Santa. "Rudolph heard your plea for help and signaled the rest of the team.”

“Mystic!” several people gasped.

Mystic started and finally was aware of the rest of the group. “You ok?” she asked with a mixture of relief and alarm.

“Yeah," Alice nodded. "Envy's a little chilled, but he's warming up in the greenhouse."

"Greenhouse?"

Santa nodded. "How else could I make sweets for the good guys, gals, and non-binary pals?"

"Is Santa secretly Thomas Sanders?" Bailey gasped.

_‘_ _Somehow I doubt that,’_ I thought, just glad to be warm and excited to have proof that Santa was a real person, and I knew that we all had a lot of questions for the jolly old man.

“Is it true that you give bad people coal?" Mystic asked eagerly.

"Well," Santa confessed. "I used to, but then I found out that coal wasn't really so much of a punishment because a lot of kids were using them to draw on the walls. So I started sending them sticks, but then I discovered they began using them as magic wands when playing pretend. After a lot of trial and error, I just decided to send them a note. But then they used those to make paper airplanes, so in the end, I decided that I would send them nothing."

"How exactly are you able to live in the North Pole?" Ines inquired.

"Fat isn't useless down here," he responded, smiling. "My fat keeps in a lot of heat, and I also make sure the workshop isn't too cold, nor too toasty.”

“How does the mailman get letters from the kids to you?" Alice asked excitedly.

"There's a magic mail-post where the mail-people deliver all of the letters,” Santa answered, beaming. “They just put them inside of the chute and _whoosh!_ They all get sent straight to my workshop!”

We all were entranced, but I became aware that there was some kind of glow coming from the center of Mystic’s chest that was a little distracting, and it seemed to grow whenever she asked a question for Santa to answer.

“Why don't people usually leave things out for the reindeer?" Mystic asked.

Santa considered this for a moment. "That's something I've never been able to answer myself,” he admitted. “But the reindeer wish to thank you for the snack and drink you leave out for them, Mystic."

"Huh?" a few of the writers asked.

"Mystic, do you know what he's talking about?" Lisbet asked.

"I do!" Mystic answered, smiling. "Several years back, I started setting out carrots and water for the reindeer. Everyone seems to forget about all of the hard work they do."

"I do that too!" Alice gasped. "I thought I was the only one."

"Oh yes, and thank you too, Miss Alice," Santa beamed. "The both of you are very sweet to think of the reindeer. And for the rest of you who do it as well."

I couldn’t help but smile, and made a mental note to start leaving out carrot sticks and apple slices for the reindeer…well, I would if and when I was able to get back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I knew Santa Claus was real! Yay! Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	4. CHAPTER THREE: SANTA CLAUS! PART TWO

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> All right, before I get this chapter going, there's a few things I want to let you guys know about: first, the tags have been changed on everything connected to Mystic's OET, and we've done this because some fellow writers have been nitpicking and claiming that Our Eternity Together isn't ETN-reated because it's a AU, that and it's clogging up the Escape the Night tag on AO3. Even though I considered what they were saying to be rude and disrespectful, all of us involved with OET and the related AUs, have changed the tags in order to make the nitpickers happy.
> 
> Sorry, I had to get that off my chest, but that's what has been going on in real life these days. Onward!

**CHAPTER THREE: SANTA CLAUS! PART TWO**

*****

“Do you know the Sugar Plum Fairy?” Mystic asked eagerly.

Santa nodded. "She and I are very good friends. Would you like to visit her sometime?"

"Yes, please!" Mystic exclaimed, her dialect veering into British.

"Nope," Candy Pop gagged as he tried to sit up in pain. "Can we go back to Spooksville, please??"

I started, having forgotten that Candy Pop was there, and I was alarmed to see that he was still wounded, even though he now had a bandage around his middle, but I could see that he was still bleeding.

"I like it here too!" Alice exclaimed.

"I find it quite darling," Genevievesmiled. "Along with a few people here." She and Mystic made brief eye contact at that moment, and she blushed.

"Ha! _GAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY_!" Lyra exclaimed, making my cringe since it.

“Lyra, please don’t shout,” I requested.

Genevieve was taken aback by this. "I'll have you know that I am very much straight," she huffed.

"Yeah? So's spaghetti until it becomes hot and wet."

Mystic blushed upon hearing this, and the light glowed brighter.

"Where's that light coming from?" Lisbet asked.

"Seems like it's coming from over by Mystic."

Mystic blinked. "M-me? I don't see anything."

"Do you have your glasses on?" Wynter wondered.

Mystic shook her head and Santa handed them to her. She placed them on her face and she was now able to see that the room was a nice, soothing red with green décor, and we all could smell fresh pine needles as well as chocolate, gingerbread, and other sweets.

"Are we actually in…?" Mystic gasped in awe.

Santa nodded. "This is part of my workshop."

Just then, a figure with pointy ears came inside and checked on Candy Pop. "He's stable, but not quite fit to work yet, sir."

"Give him more time. And more Christmas cheer."

"I'm allergic," Candy Pop gagged.

"Then you're going to have a tough time surviving here. You build immunity and healing when you have Christmas cheer."

"No wonder I'm still bleeding."

"Bleeding?!" Mystic yelped and she tried to get up, but Genevievewas pushed her back down.

"No, no, no, dear. You have to rest some more."

"I'm fine."

"Better safe than sorry."

"I said I'm fine. Candy Pop isn't!"

"You both aren't okay."

"I'm not about to die!"

"Neither is he."

"He was just bleeding his guts out!"

"Mystic, just f*g stop," Candy Pop groaned. "I'm tired of you trying to take on so much s*. So's Envy."

I glanced toward the greenhouse, where Envy was now peering through the door, and he was also turning a light shade of green, which meant that plant boi was blushing.

"Is that true?" Mystic asked.

Envy nodded. "It's clear that…you're taking on too much, and it's getting concerning," he sighed. "I don't know how you don't see that it's wearing you down."

"I'm just trying to help!” Mystic insisted. “I got you all into this s* and I wanna get you out of it."

"We get it,” Alice said kindly. “But putting all of that responsibility on your shoulders is just going to make things worse for yourself. You need to let us help you too.”

I nodded. “Yeah, you can’t do this all on your own.”

"And besides," Andrea R added. "This isn't on you. The Cursed God was the one who manipulated you in the first place."

I could tell that Mystic wanted to believe us, but she was still feeling guilty. "But I should've been more wary. I should've-"

"We don't do should'ves in the Society," Jael told her. "We can't fix the mistakes we made, and we can't always prevent the future. We need to work on what we have now."

"They're right," Wynter agreed. "We love you a lot and we want to help, but we can't do that if we don't bear some of that responsibility.”

“I’m with Wynter,” I agreed. “Let us help carry the load.”

Mystic shook her head. "I don't want you taking on that burden."

"We don't want you taking it on either, at least not by yourself."

"Better me than you."

"We can discuss this later," Santa Claus told us. "You'd better get some rest. You have a big day of work ahead of you."

“Work?” I said, confused. “What work?”

"Work?" Mystic exclaimed.

"Yes," Santa said, nodding. "I can't just let you live here for free. If you work as my elves, I'll keep you safe from whoever is after you." He stood up. "Well, I have to go assign you your new positions. Take care and get a little more rest." He turned out the lights and shut the door.

Figuring that he was right, we all settled back down in our beds, even Mystic settled down enough to convince Genevieveto let her go, and it wasn’t long before we all drifted off back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't take offense to the notes at the beginning of the chapter or come at me, I was venting, and this was the only way I could do it at the time. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	5. CHAPTER FOUR: UNIFORMS AND ASSIGNMENTS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> It's time to see what life is like in Santa's workshop at the North Pole. Onward!

**CHAPTER FOUR: UNIFORMS AND ASSIGNMENTS**

*****

The next morning found Candy Pop fully healed, much to his confusion, but I considered that fact that he was healed to be a good sign.

A few minutes after we all started waking up and getting out of the beds, Santa entered the room and beamed when he saw us.

“Ah, you slept nicely, I would assume?” he was asking us when I saw Envy poke his head into the room, and promptly disappeared.

_‘Huh? I thought he was in the greenhouse,’_ I thought, wondering what he was up to, but I was distracted by Santa when he started talking again.

“While you rested, we made sure to check your sizes,” he informed us, which made some of us girls flushed a little. “You’ll find your uniforms waiting in the Dressing Room.” He then lead the group out of the room.

*****

We followed Santa down a hallway, I was vaguely aware of Envy slipping out of the shadows to join the end of the line, and to a door, which Santa opened, letting us enter the Dressing Room, and waiting for us were the red/green uniforms wore by the elves.

We each found our uniforms as they all had been tagged with our names, and I took my bundle into one of the dressing rooms, making sure that the door was locked and secured, not wanting someone to accidentally walk in on me.

I took off my clothes, folding and setting them aside even though it was unlikely that I would ever wear them again, and went to work on putting on the uniform.

_‘_ _How did they manage to measure all of us when we were asleep?’_ I wondered, pulling on the leggings, which I was grateful for since tights have always left my legs feeling itchy, which didn’t stop my mom from having me wear them when I was a kid.  _‘It’s a big creepy, but given that everything is fitting so far, I say they did their job right.’_

I soon was completely dressed, including the hat, and I examined my reflection in the full-length mirror, and I actually looked good. I didn’t tend to wear red and green together like this, but given where we were, it was fitting, and I chuckled when I found in one of the pockets a functioning asthma inhaler.

_‘_ _I guess they want me to be prepared incase my asthma gets triggered again,’_ I thought, pocketing the inhaler,  _‘and that’s a good thing to have.’_ I then returned to the main room, where nearly everyone was wearing the new uniforms, even Bailey, and Mystic wasn’t thrilled with how she was looking in the uniform, which I thought looked cute on her.

“I look stupid!"

"Oh come on," Andrea R. told her. "I think you look cute in it."

"Yeah! You look so adorable as an elf," Ro agreed.

Mystic blushed intensely as Alice knocked on the door of one of the changing rooms.

"Envy, you coming?"

There was no answer.

"Envy, come on!"

_`"I'm not coming out,"`_ he mumbled. _`"I look so dorky."`_

"Oh come on," Mystic assured him. "It can't look _that_ bad."

"Yeah!" Alice agreed.

Sighing Envy opened the door and we all couldn't help but chuckle a bit. A seven foot tall plant man in an elf costume was quite a sight, and he blushed a deep shade of green.

"You look so handsome!" Alice told him, hugging him, and he just went fifty shades greener.

“Okay, newbies!" an elf called out, entering the room and startling all of us. "Time to organize you into work areas." The elf pulled out a list and began rattling off the names. "Let's see. Rosanna, Alice, Safiya, Andrea Russett, Matthew, and Mystic, you will be working in the candy-making station with Poppy."

They got together and smiled.

"Nikita, Manny, Bretman, Tyler, Tana, and Joey, you six will be in the seamstress shop working on pajamas with Caramel.”

The beauty guru got together with Tyler, Tana, and Joey, and they were all looking excited.

“Prepare to have the most fashionable pj’s ever!!” Nikita crowed.

“Genevieve, Candy Pop, Envy, Andrea Brooks, Lauren, and Alex, you six will be working in the doll-making department with Holly.” And, five seconds after he started shaking with fear, Envy bolted out the door, surprising everyone.

The elf raised an eyebrow and went back to reading the list. “Gabrielle, Elizabeth, Roi, Colleen, Stella, and Teala, you six will help Zippy with training the reindeer. Lisbet, Parris, Cedar, and Hyacinthe, you four will help Vanilla in the cookie baking area. Ines, Delta, Marly, Darby, Silvia, and Lacey, you six will work with Crunchy on Naughty and Nice List Coordination.”

Although I’d been hoping to do something with artwork or even baking, I didn’t mind doing writing, and so I joined up with Ines, Marly, Darby, Silvia, and Lacey to wait for Crunchy to show up to take us to the right room. I realized that Marly, Darby, Silvia, and Lacey were new writers that hadn’t been with the group before, and they weren’t the only new members. _‘Now how did they end up here?’_

“Sierra, Justine, GloZell, Oli, Eva, and Jc, you six will work on making wreaths with Mistletoe. Lyra, Tristen, Dooper, Haven, Rene, and Taylor, you six will go over to gift-wrapping with Buddy. Alison, Calliope, Mortimer, Sasha, Harlow, and Wynter, you'll be working in the greenhouse with Dolly. Hazel, Montana, Anniken, Aoibhe, Briar, and Caelan, you six will work with Scout on cartography-”

“Some of these names seem new," Mystic told Alice, who shrugged.

"I guess they kinda just…appeared?”

Any other conversations about the new arrivals ended when the head elf finished reading off the lists.

“Okay, everyone, get to work!" And we were off to working our Christmas job as elves for the first time in our lives.

This was going to be fun. Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't really blame Envy for rabbiting when he hears the word "doll". Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	6. CHAPTER FIVE: WORK AND WHISPERS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> Now, having a chance to work in Santa's workshop would be a dream come true for kids, especially to work along with elves. So, the group should have fun, right? Onward!

**CHAPTER FIVE: WORK AND WHISPERS**

*****

My group followed Crunchy, a cheerful female elf with red curly hair and brown/green eyes, through the hallways until we reached a large room that had long tables and shelves filled with boxes of files and books, and she turned to face us.

“All righty, this here is the Naught and Nice List Coordination room,” she said with a southern accent that made me think that she’d came from Tennessee originally, “and here is where you’ll be going through the list of names to determine which of these kids go on the nice list, and which of them are to be on here naughty list.” And she pointed to two long lists that were tackled to one wall: Nice and Naughty.

I also noticed that there was a large globe that reminded me of the one from _Rise of the Guardians_ , and it was covered with bright lights. _‘All of the children that still believe,’_ I thought as Crunchy directed us to the tables, where there were quills, papers, and books filled with the names of every single child on Earth.

“All right, Ines, you have names A-D. Delta, you have names E-H. Marly, you have names I-L. Darby, you have names M-P. Silvia, you have names Q-T. And Lacey, you have names U-X. And each of you are going to get some of the limited Y names and Z names to work on as well. Now get to work.”

I went to my assigned table, pulled the large thick leather book toward me, and opened it to the first page while I picked up a quill. Looking at the first name on the page, I checked to see what this kid had been doing during the year, and found that this girl had been good.

_‘And that means she gets to be on the nice list,’_ I thought, writing her name on the paper and I went down the names on the page, writing on two different pieces of papers of which kids have been good and which kids had been bad, and it was pretty clear that there were more good kids then bad kids this year.

*****

Several hours passed with the only noises being the turning of pages, the scratching of the quills on paper, with the occasionally need to fix an error made by someone, and chairs being pushed back to give the lists to Crunchy so that she could update the main lists for Santa to use come Christmas Eve.

From time to time, an elf would entered the room, talked quietly with Crunchy about something that would make them both giggle, and then that elf would leave. This happened several times, but I didn’t pay attention as I was focused on my work, and then it was time for lunch.

*****

We joined up with the rest of the group, even Envy was there, and it was while we were eating and chatting that I noticed that Mystic wasn’t there. “Where’s Mystic?”

No one knew for sure, not even Alice, who hadn’t seen Mystic since she’d been told by Poppy that she hadn’t needed to do anything else in the candy-making room.

_‘_ _That’s strange,’_ I thought, finishing my lunch and headed back to work on the lists with my group,  _‘why assign Mystic to a group if she isn’t going to be needed?’_ I figured that I would ask Mystic when I saw her after the work day was over, and decided to focus on the lists instead.

*****

Something different did happen after we went back to working on the lists, and it was close to the end of the shift. I was helping Ines pronounce certain english names when an elf entered the room and went to Crunchy to talk, and this time I was able to overhear what they were whispering about.

“How is that girl Delta doing with the lists?”

“Pretty good, given that she’s autistic and such.”

“Heh, good thing this is a moderate job or she would probably be messing up big time like that Mystic girl or even that Orpheus boy.”

“Giving them jobs was too kind for the boss.”

“Yeah, but you know how he is.”

“I know, I know.”

“Poppy plans on docking the pay of those three.”

“Probably a good thing, and who knows? After Christmas, we might be able to send them all away, ya know?”

“I hope so, that or find a cure first, that’s what Carol’s counting on.”

“Whichever comes first then.”

“Yeah.”

I could feel my blood boiling as the two elves giggled and the one who came in left the room. _‘Of all the horrible-!’_ I couldn’t even _finish_ the thought, I was _that_ pissed. And for the remainder of the work shift, I did my work, and I planned on talking with Mystic about what I’d overheard.

*****

The second that work was done for the day, I hurried to the dorm rooms that we’ve been given, catching up up with the group as they entered, and found Mystic curled up on one of the beds, crying _a lot_.

Ro and others immediately went to Mystic’s aid, and I had a suspicion that she’d overheard the whisperings from some of the elves concerning, her, myself, and Orpheus.

“Oh no, you poor thing-”

“What happened!?”

“Who do I have to kill!??”

“Nikita-”

“What?”

*****

Over the next few days, this was basically the cycle: we split up in our groups to go to work, have lunch, go back to work, I would overhear more of the rude whisperings about autistic people, and return to the dorm rooms to find Mystic crying on the bed.

I’ve tried to talk to Mystic about what I overheard, but no one would let me get even _close_ to her, and it was getting me frustrated since it was like they were just going to exclude me… _again_. And I was pretty sure that I was going to have to knock some heads together to make them stop doing that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, these elves have issues, and no one is listening to Delta or even giving her a chance to talk to Mystic about what she overheard. Come on, guys! Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	7. CHAPTER SIX: SECERT SANTA DISASTER PART ONE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> It's time to see how Delta and the others are doing at the North Pole, and whether Delta can even *talk* to Mystic about the rude elves. Onward!

**CHAPTER SIX: SECERT SANTA DISASTER PART ONE**

*****

Everyday that I found Mystic crying and I get sent away when I’ve offered to help, was a stab in the heart, and it was affecting my Christmas spirit, which was shrinking each day, too.

I was really believing that I should just try to return to the real world when something came up that got everyone, including Mystic, excited.

Secret Santa.

*****

“Hey everyone!” Sugarplum called out, holding up an elf hat. “It’s gonna be Secret Santa in a few days,” she added with a big grin as we all gathered around with, mostly, eager expressions. “Please draw a name from the Elf Hat, and prepare a gift!” She then handed the elf hat to Justine, who picked a name, and she passed it on.

Eager to be able to pick a name and not get left out, I edged myself into position, and when Mystic chose her name, I was able to take the hat and drew a name for myself before passing it on.

I opened the folded paper and I grinned when I saw that I’d gotten Joey’s name. _‘Perfect! And I’m_ sure _that I know what to get him!’_

This was my chance to prove that I wasn’t useless, that I have skills that can come in handy, and that leaving me out was just dumb.

*****

Over the next few days, between shifts and meals, I snuck into the doll-making room to gather up supplies, even snatched up some stuff from the room where the pjs were being made, and I went to work on my project, eager and determined to make it the best present _ever_.

I wasn’t really that great at sewing, but I was doing to do the best that I could, and after some trail and error, I managed to make doll versions of Wolf, Storm, Lark, and all seven puppies, using colored gems for their eyes, and I even made collars with their names on them.

_‘Joey’s going to_ love _this gift!’_ I thought, putting all ten dolls in a box that I’d decorated with colored gems and crystals, placed the lid on top, and added to it a blue glittery bow with a name tag that had Joey’s name neatly written on it. _‘I just know he will. He has to be missing his fur babies_ a lot _and this can help with the emotional pain.’_

I couldn’t wait to give Joey his Secret Santa present and I also couldn’t wait to see what I would get from my own Secret Santa.

Yeah, this was going to be a _great_ party.

*****

On the day of the party, I was standing between Ines and Lisbet, holding the present for Joey, and I couldn’t wait to get inside for the party and to give Joey his present.

I could see that Mystic was also excited, and I was thrilled that she was looking forward to the party and to getting a Secret Santa present, it’s just what she needed.

“You can go in now,” said an elf, opening the door to the room, and we all filed inside, finding the place filled with elves, friends, and lots of presents to be passed around.

“Okay, everyone!" an elf called. "Let's do Secret Santa.”

Everyone started moving around, giving their Secret Santa presents to the person and/or elf that they got the name of, and I went over to Joey.

“Hey, I got a present for you, Joey.”

Joey, who’d been chatting with Nikita about the baseball bat she’d gotten from Alice, blinked and turned to me. “Really?”

I nodded and presented him with the present. “Merry Christmas.”

Joey’s expression brightened when he saw how the box was decorated and accepted it. “Thanks, Delta. That’s your name, right?”

I nodded, feeling happy to be acknowledged. “Yeah.”

Joey carefully removed the lid and his expression got even brighter when he saw the contents. “My doggies!” he gushed. “Thanks, Delta!”

I beamed. “Welcome!” And I didn’t even object when he gave me a quick hug before examining the dog dolls.

Feeling happier then I have since the temple business back on the island, I looked around, hoping to get my Secret Santa present, and I noted that Mystic was also looking around eagerly.

There was still _a lot_ of presents to be passed around, and so I figured that the two of us would be getting our presents from our Secret Santa’s soon.

Little did I know, something bad was going to happen _very_ soon to the both of us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will Delta get a Secret Santa present or not? Bye for now! R&R everyone!


	8. CHAPTER SEVEN: SECERT SANTA DISASTER PART TWO

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, world and welcome back to Escape the Night!
> 
> It's a Secret Santa party! Will Delta and Mystic get gifts? Time to find out. Onward!

**CHAPTER SEVEN: SECERT SANTA DISASTER PART TWO**

*****

_‘So far it looks like we’re the only ones who haven’t gotten our presents yet,’_ I thought, hoping that it would be soon for both of us.

I saw the elf named Sugarplum was stepping onto the stage, and I also realized that Mystic and I didn’t get Secret Santa presents. _‘Wait, what? Why didn’t we get any?’_

“Did we forget anyone?" Sugarplum asked, and we both raised our hands, but she ignored us. "No one? Okay, good. Let's start-”

“Excuse me?" Mystic asked standing up. "But I didn't get a Secret Santa gift.”

“I didn’t get a Secret Santa gift either,” I said, also standing up, but Sugarplum was still ignoring us like we didn’t even exist.

“Please unwrap your-” Sugarplum began as Mystic walked up to her and politely tapped her on the shoulder, and she screamed loudly, acting like she’d been harmed. “ _AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!_ I've been infected with autism!”

I froze. “Wait, what?”

Mystic stumbled back, confused. "I…I was trying to tell you that I didn't get a Secret Santa gift.”

Sugarplum spun and glared at Mystic, her face red, and she began screaming at the blonde girl. “Get out of the party, r*! No one wants to catch your disease!”

_‘Oh no she didn’t!’_ I thought, my blood was starting to boil, and I could tell that Mystic was getting angry and I didn’t blame her in the slightest, for this was going _too far!_

“W-what?” Mystic asked, clearly trying to control her temper.

“Lemme spell it out for you: No. One. Wants. You. Here," Sugarplum said slowly. "You're a disgrace to humanity and elf-kind. That’s why your name was taken out of the Secret Santa hat. Nobody _wants_ you at this party or at any of our other parties! Now get out!”

“Why you-!” I started toward Sugarplum, but Ines stopped me, and then we both became frozen by the sight of the elves shoving Mystic out of the room, and I could see that Mystic was clearly on the verge of an emotional breakdown, especially when the elves began taunting her.

“Go away!”

“You heard her.”

“No one wants you!!”

“You’re a freak!”

“Just disappear!!”

“Don’t come back!”

“We don’t need you.”

“We’ll never need you-”

“What kind of idiot would be your friend!?”

“ _JUST SHUT THE F* UP, YOU ABLEIST B*S_!” Mystic finally screamed, and the elves jumped back, startled.

Even I was startled, and my poor ears were ringing.

Mystic stood there for a full moment, taking in the silence, and then she ran out of the room in tears.

Enraged by this, I spun and moved toward Sugarplum, but Ro beat me to it, and boy was the tough little muffin pissed.

“ _YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES!!!_ ” she shrieked and her face was beet red with rage as she stepped forward and actually _slapped_ Sugarplum across her smug face, and boy did that horrible elf look shocked. “How _dare_ you say those horrible lies to our friend! You aren’t an elf, you’re a monster!”

Ro probably would said more, but the others grabbed her and herded her out of the room, and Ines made a point of grabbing my arm and pulled me out of there as well, for I was fully _intent_ on giving Sugarplum and the other so-called elves a piece of my mind to choke on.

Yeah, I was _that_ pissed, for everything that’d been said about autistic people were outright lies!

Unfortunately, the time wasn’t for payback, it was time to check on Mystic, and I was wishing that I was somewhere else, for my Christmas spirit was disappearing and what was worse, Mystic wasn’t the only one who didn’t get a Secret Santa present.

No one gave me one either, and that meant that my name wasn’t in that hat at all. I was _that_ invisible, I was _that_ useless, and no one even cared.

To Be Continued…

*****

_I have so many, so many regrets._

_So many lies, so many broken ties._

_I wish for my old life._

_Wish I could fix my strike._

_Cause no one truly escapes the night._

_Oh, won't you help me escape the night._

_Oh baby help me escape the night._

_Escape the night._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mystic wasn't the only one who didn't get a Secret Santa present, Delta didn't get one either, and that meant either her name wasn't in the hat or whoever drew her name decided that she wasn't worth it. Bye for now! R&R everyone!

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, there's been years when I haven't had a good Christmas, but I can say that the good Christmas years outnumber the bad ones. Bye for now! R&R everyone!


End file.
